Converting Street Lamps into Charging Stations (article by Siemens and ubitricity, August 2018)

A Berlin-based startup has developed technology that enables street lamps to be easily converted into charging stations for electric vehicles. Siemens has invested in this promising, new technology.The International Energy Agency (IEA) would like to see 100 million electric cars on the road worldwide by 2030. The idea is to stay on course to achieving the goals of the Paris climate accord. In addition, the IEA wants one fifth of all road vehicles, including motorcycles, buses and trucks, to run on batteries by then. The Paris city council might even ban vehicles with combustion engines from entering the city from 2030 on. In addition, also by 2030, the European Union is planning to have 30 percent of all new vehicles equipped with electric or other alternative drive systems.

Clearly, electric mobility is on a roll. However, to make the vision of greenhouse-gas-free transportation a reality, we need not only enough renewably-generated electricity in the grid but also charging stations in the right places — especially where vehicles park for long periods – in other words, at work and at home. People who turn parking times into charging times will drive off with fully charged batteries and help spread the use of renewable energies, because their cars will become energy storage devices. Unless they are making a long trip, drivers will then rarely have to stop at quick charging stations to rapidly recharge their vehicles’ batteries.